One of the reasons Premier League fans do not like international breaks is the lack of club football on weekends. International football rarely delivers the same joy, excitement or drama.
Another major reason why international commitments are despised is player injuries. International breaks are notorious for injuries and the subsequent unavailability affects one’s club commitments.
Injuries can affect all teams and not just the real ones, but the fantasy ones too.
That’s the reason most FPL managers tend to wait till after all the national team matches have been played before making their free transfers.
The same script is repeated every break and it is no different this time.
In this post, we discuss a few players who have picked up an injury and who can be replaced within your FPL team.
Alexander Isak
£7.1m-rated Magpies striker Isak withdrew from his national team squad even before playing a match.
The Swedish missed his team’s training, reporting some discomfort, and has since returned back to England.
This could be a major blow for Newcastle, who already have Wilson and Saint-Maximin sidelined due to injuries.
FPL estimates a 75% chance of Isak playing against Fulham.
For those not willing to take a chance, some sub-7.5m rated options can be Toney, Mitrovic and Solanke.
Toney is the most bought striker this round with 125K transfers. The Brentford striker has Bournemouth, Newcastle and BHA up next, making him a very attractive replacement.
Aleksandar Mitrovic broke his streak of scoring in every match last game and will be itching to resume after the break. With no Big Six side till GW15, the Serbian is as attractive an option as ever.
Dominic Solanke is a differential pick, owned by only 0.5% of teams.
The Bournemouth striker all possible minutes of the previous three games, scoring and assisting once.
Brentford, Leicester, Fulham, Southampton and West Ham are as tasty a fixture list as one could ask for.
One added advantage that Solanke has over his counterparts is a lack of international duty. The Englishman will be well rested come 1st October, unlike Tony or Mitrovic.
Nathan Patterson and Lucas Digne
Patterson’s injury comes at the worst possible time for Everton.
The Toffees were just starting to get their act together defensively and will be hoping that the Scottish international will be back soon.
The £4.1m budget defender was transferred in by 46K teams this round, who will surely be regretting pulling the trigger so early, with FPL estimating only a 25% chance of the player featuring in the next game.
Lucas Digne was also injured when on France duty, with a suspected stress fracture on his ankle.
Some options in the sub-£5m price bracket to replace them are Neco Williams, Kilman, Schar and Tarkowski.
Williams is the cheapest alternative available, allowing you to spread funds across other areas on the pitch.
And with stats like these, he is not too shabby either.
Owned by only 1.7% of teams, Max Kilman provides real differential value at a budget price.
The player has been ever-present for Wolves this season, keeping 3 clean sheets in 7 games.
Some even think that, given the current form, Southgate missed a beat by not selecting the player for Nations League.
Wolves face West Ham and Chelsea next, after which, a run of relatively easier fixtures come into play, making Kilman a good choice.
Fabian Schar has scored 1 goal and kept 3 clean sheets for Newcastle this season, returning 29 points in FPL.
An important point to note is, if managers have either Trippier or Pope in their teams, they best avoid Schar as doubling up on Newcastle’s defence is a risk.
However, Schar can be a cheaper way into Newcastle’s defence for those who cannot afford Trippier (£4.7m vs. £5.4m).
Finally, Patterson’s teammate James Tarkowski can be an astute addition to teams.
With two back-to-back clean sheets, the defender has made himself one of the first names on Lampard’s playing XI and has delivered 23 points for the 0.8% of teams that have him.
According to FDR, five of their GWs between 9 and 16 are rated at just two.
Hugo Lloris
The Spurs goalkeeper withdrew from the French squad and is a doubt for the North London Derby, courtesy of an injury on his right thigh.
With a 75% chance of playing, the keeper may just be back in time.
Owned by just 5% of the teams, Lloris’ potential injury may not fret a lot of managers, but for those who do own him, refer to this article for possible replacements.
